DHR to Head CHRO Search for PPL Corporation

November 20, 2015 – DHR International has been retained by PPL Corporation to lead its search for a chief human resources officer (CHRO). The search will be conducted by Jerry McGrath, managing partner of the firm’s global human resources practice, along with Joe Huddle, its industrial practice managing partner, and senior associate Christine Pasieka.

Established in 1920, PPL Corporation is a global energy company delivering electricity and natural gas to more than 10.5 million customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and the U.K. The company is based in Allentown, PA.

DHR recruits hundreds of human resource professionals annually to its global client roster. Areas of specialty within the firm’s human resources practice include CHRO; compensation & benefits; divisional & geographic generalists; diversity; executive leadership & development; HR information systems & operations; industrial & labor relations; talent management & organizational development; and talent acquisition. DHR has completed a number of recent CHRO searches for companies, including Michaels Stores, Delphi and Under Armour.

Demand for C-level HR executives is rising, according to recruiters specializing in the function, as upbeat U.S. hiring forecasts point to a growing sense of urgency within the HR community to prepare and plan for potential talent shortages.

Recent hiring trends show that a full one-third of companies polled said their organizations were hiring for HR positions, including CHRO. This number is up from 20 percent just 18 months ago.

According to a just released survey from the Society for Human Resource Management, the need for HR expertise increases dramatically with company size. Just one percent of small companies (those with one to 99 employees) are recruiting for HR positions, according to its summer survey results. On the other end of the spectrum, nearly two thirds (65 percent) of employers with 25,000 or more workers are now hiring for HR jobs.

This research concurs with findings from Hunt Scanlon Media CHRO surveys which indicate that as large companies bring their more significant executive recruiting work in-house, there is a developing need for top-flight CHROs who can oversee the entire corporate personnel spectrum, from top to bottom.

Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media